


Skateboards & Ballet Shoes

by captainkippen



Series: JATP Appreciation Week 2020 [2]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dance, Ballet, Everybody Lives, First Dates, Hip Hop, M/M, Skateboarding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:14:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27329389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainkippen/pseuds/captainkippen
Summary: Day 2: Write an AU.Alex is a ballet dancer and Willie comes crashing into his life.Written forJulie and the Phantoms Appreciation Week 2020.
Relationships: Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: JATP Appreciation Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1993720
Comments: 18
Kudos: 325
Collections: JATP Appreciation Week





	Skateboards & Ballet Shoes

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on tumblr [here!](https://captainkippen.tumblr.com/)

Alex was late. He was _so_ late. His heart pumped wildly as he pushed his way through the bustling metro crowd. Ten minutes until his audition, the building a fifteen-minute walk away, and more foot traffic than he’d ever seen.

Man, he was so screwed.

“Yo, bro! Watch out!”

The collision didn’t even register in his mind at first. One second he was hurrying up a set of concrete steps and the next he was falling, stomach twisting, down, down, down. The sky above him was a clear blue and he blinked up at it, dazed. Pain blossomed through his body. 

“Oh, jeez. You okay, dude?”

A face appeared above him, forehead wrinkled in concern, and Alex’s breath left him once again. Sharp angular features, long silky hair, and a mischievous twinkle in those deep dark eyes. He was no longer sure whether he was more dazed from being knocked down or because of the boy hovering over him. God, he couldn’t actually be that cute could he?

“Nngh,” he managed to say, pushing himself into a sitting position. 

The boy thrust out a hand, grabbing Alex’s arm and pulling him up to his feet. A small crowd of worried onlookers had gathered around them, some with their phones out and ready to dial for an ambulance if necessary, but they dispersed once Alex assured them he was okay. With the crowd out of the way, he could see more clearly what had happened. The boy was a skater. He’d come down the stairs, too fast it seemed and had gone right into Alex.

“You sure you’re good?” the guy asked again. “I kinda sent you flying.”

“Well I’m not dead,” Alex said, rubbing his elbow. “But it was a close call. You should be more careful.”

“Sorry,” Skater boy said with a sheepish smile. “Can I buy you a milkshake or something to make up for it?”

For a brief moment of insanity, Alex found himself on the verge of saying yes. It wasn’t every day that a cute boy ran you down and offered you buy you a milkshake as an apology. And then he remembered exactly why he had been in such a hurry to get up the stairs in the first place.

He swore.

“Whoa, it’s cool, I get the message,” said the skater, throwing his hands up in mock surrender. “No milkshakes.”

“No, it’s not that,” Alex said, leaning down and grabbing his bag. “I’ve just really gotta be somewhere, sorry. Thanks for the offer… I gotta–”

And he slipped past, leaving the boy to watch him go and wishing that it didn’t feel like the universe had it out for him.

He made it to his audition by some incredible stroke of luck. It turned out there had hold-ups through the whole company; the director had been stuck in traffic for an hour. Alex even had time to warm up properly before he danced.

Freedom flowed through him as he moved across the floor, allowing himself to unwind and shed the disaster of the morning as a symphony of music rose and fell behind him. In the end, he found himself blushing as he gave a little bow and those watching applauded him. His heart felt lighter than it had in a long time when the director shook his hand with a smile.

It was weeks before he saw the boy again. By then, Alex had almost completely settled into the company. He’d even made friends. Luke, another one of the dancers, had taken to grabbing lunch with him. Sometimes he’d whisper jokes to Alex while they were next to each other at the barre. More than once they’d had to be shushed because they were giggling too much. His girlfriend, Julie, a classical pianist who played for the company, was just as friendly and even more delightful than Luke. She brought Alex homemade snacks and gossiped with him about the various scandals that had happened, or were still happening, that year. Then there was Reggie, sweet, weird, Reggie. Alex was always stunned by him, mostly because he managed to be one of the most graceful dancers he’d ever seen and yet had the coordination of a drunk baby deer outside of the dance hall. Luke and Reggie lived together, and they had a spare room. They’d offered it to Alex. He surprised himself by genuinely considering it – it would be nice to get out of his parents’ place, after all. Plus, he wouldn’t have to worry about the troublesome commute so much. 

He was imagining what it might be like to live with the guys on his way home one day. When he turned the corner towards the metro station, he found himself face to face with a small crowd. Someone had set up a boombox off to the side, pounding out loud hip hop music, and Alex stopped in place when he saw who was at the centre of attention.

The skater boy moved his body with a confident ease that even Alex envied. He twisted his body to the beat, his limbs flailing in controlled chaos, drawing gasps and applause from the crowd.

Before he could register what he was doing, Alex pushed his way to the front to watch. He was captivated. Ballet might have been the one to snare his heart, but Alex loved all types of dance. Dancing brought freedom and energy. It enabled you to tell a story with your body. When he was dancing, it was the only time he couldn’t feel that ever-constant twist of anxiety that lived lodged in his gut. 

When the song ended, the guy skidded to a halt and gave the crowd a little bow with a light laugh. Butterflies fluttered in Alex’s chest at the sound. The onlookers began to disperse, but he lingered on the edge, trying to summon up the courage to say something. Before he could find the words, though, he caught his eye and panic blossomed through him.

“Hey, you’re that guy I almost killed!” Skater Boy said with a delighted smile.

Alex huffed out a nervous chuckle, shoving his hands into his pockets with a shrug.

“Uh, it’s Alex actually,” he said.

“Alex,” Skater Boy nodded. “Nice. I’m Willie.”

“Nice to meet you,” Alex tugged one hand from his pocket to shake Willie’s and tried to pretend he didn’t feel the way sparks flew when their skin touched. His heart was hammering in his chest. “I liked your dancing.”

“Thanks! It’s a pretty easy way to get some extra cash, y’know?” 

He nudged the small cup by the boombox with his foot, rattling the change inside. 

“I’m a dancer too.”

“Awesome! Let me guess… ballet?”

“How’d you know?”

“You don’t look like the hip hop kinda guy,” Willie joked. “Plus, I kinda saw your shoes in your bag that time I ran you over.”

“Oh,” Alex blushed, ducking his head. He scrabbled around for something else to say, feeling himself going red in the silence. He wished he was more like Luke and Reggie, who always either knew what to say or blundered into the right thing. Instead, he just over-thought everything and got nauseous.

Once again Willie came to his rescue.

“So… Alex,” he said. “How about that milkshake? I know this great place not far from here.”

Be cool, Alex. Be cool. What would Luke say?

“You’re buying,” Alex said, with a teasing smile.

Willie’s answering grin took his breath away.

He did end up moving in with Luke and Reggie. Three months down the line and Alex couldn’t believe what his life had become. He was a dance in the Los Angeles Ballet Company. He lived with two guys he adored so much it felt as though they’d known each other forever. Julie still made him snacks, but more often than not he helped her, and he could roll out of bed half an hour before rehearsals and still make it to the studio on time.

And then there was Willie. 

They didn’t stop at milkshakes. When they’d left the diner, after three hours of nonstop joking and talking and sharing fries, Willie had written his phone number on Alex’s hand like it was a scene out of a movie. It had taken him three days to get up the courage to call him, and when he did they had ended up arranging a date within five minutes of saying hello. They went to the movies, to the beach, to a string of terrible restaurants with the odd hidden gem in between. They almost got arrested sneaking into a museum after hours and Willie held his hand tight as they ran from the flashing lights of the police car. He watched Willie dance on the street for extra change, met the guys at the skatepark that he hung around with, and, in return, Willie came to see his performances. He clapped louder than anyone else in the audience, whistling like the wind, and bought roses for him after the shows. Bit by bit, Alex came out of his shell.

They had their first kiss under the Santa Monica Pier one night, looking out at the way the moonlight bounced across the silent ocean waves. Alex felt like he was flying. 

Weeks stretched into months and the months stretched into years. Willie’s hand in his, a skater boy and a ballet dancer. And every morning that they woke up pressed against one another, he thanked the universe for that first day when their hearts collided.

  
  
  
  



End file.
